Which tip would you pass on to your children to minimise food wastage? Tell Love Food Hate Waste for a chance to win £225 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

WRAP and its Love Food Hate Waste campaign, have asked us to find out what tips Mumsnetters have received and what tips Mumsnetters would pass on to help minimise food waste.

Here’s what WRAP say, “Love Food Hate Waste has carried out new research confirming that confidence and skills in the kitchen help everyone waste less food – in fact the average family can save £700 a year in the UK not buying and then throwing away good food and drink. We want to know what one thing you were passed on by your family which has helped you to make the most of your food and what’s the one thing you’d like to pass on to others or to your children for the future?”

So, what’s the best tip you’ve ever received? And likewise, what would you pass on to your children to help them minimise food and drink waste in the future? Perhaps you make meal plans at the start of the week so that you don’t buy any unnecessary food? Maybe you designate one meal each week to use up all the scraps in your fridge? Or maybe you’ve been taught how to save that burnt sauce or have a great way to get the family involved so that no food goes to waste? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it!

Mumsnetters also got involved in a survey for WRAP, you can view the results here.

Everyone who leaves their comment on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £225 voucher to a supermarket of your choice.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

[ataraxia]

Best info I've received, and that I'd pass on, is the range of food that can be frozen - e.g. pasta sauce, milk and cheese. So it's possible to buy better value bigger packs and split into more manageable portions. Also reduces shopping time!

[MichelleMumsnet]

Thank you everyone for all your comments so far. The winner of the prize draw is AlexanderinaTheGreater, congratulations! We'll be in touch soon.

[Minnie43]

Only buy sufficient food that you will use. Freeze wherever possible and don't impulse buy. Have a list and stick to it!

[littlemisstrivia]

Store things in the fridge in date order so you use the most perishable first

[MartyrStewart]

*Spoon full

[MartyrStewart]

Freeeze all leftovers, even if it's a spoonfool of peas or a rasher of bacon. By the end of the week you have free soup.

[Annbunce]

Don't overfill their plates - less chance of wastage then x

[sue55]

Don't buy too many fruit/veg all at once but don't throw away just because passed sell by date - fruit and veg don't have best before/sell by, many last for months in right conditions.

[kep1979]

Never go shopping when you are hungry! And bulk cook and freeze to help the budget and reduce waste.

[fluffyblueberry]

For me the best tip is - to meal plan! On a sunday I sit and work out the next weeks meals, this will always mean that I have, (for example) a roast on a sunday, so a chicken or leg of lamb, which can then go on to make a risotto or curry/stir fry/cottage pie and so on! And you can work out when you make the meal plan, just exactly what you need so - by the end of the week there should be next to nothing in the fridge and you're ready to start again!

[katiefish]

make a shopping list and stick to it, and buy little and often, if you do end up cooking extra freeze it for another time

[chelington]

I make a food plan each Sunday for the week ahead so I know exactly what we have in and what I need to buy from the supermarket.

[atmss123]

shop with a list, and try very hard to stick to it

[kthwaitey]

plan meals ahead , i think thats where in the past i have gone so wrong and brought bits and bobs and before i know it out of date because i have decided to make a different meal , a huge cost of my shopping was coming to be the stuff i was throwing away , now i plan the meals for the week ahead , buy only what we need and keep a eye on everything x

[smit23]

NEVER EVER SHOP WHEN HUNGRY!

[tanyavt]

Shop with a weekly menu in mind- and a detailed shopping list.

[redstararnie76]

Plan to make double quantities, anything you don't use, freeze and use for another meal when you're in a hurry - instant 'ready meal'

[myboycraig]

Make a meal plan, buy only what is needed and try not to be tempted by special offers that you don't really need.

[luijo]

Make larger batches of food and then portion out individual meal sizes and freeze them to save money and ensure food is not wasted.

[VickyRsuperstar]

My parents made us eat everything on our plate before we were allowed dessert which helps minimize wastage. They also made sure we didn't help ourselves to too much. I do try to do the same with my kids but I find it pointless to try to force a child to eat up something they really hate. If the kids do leave food on their plates then I recycle by letting the garden birds eat it. We don't get that many actual left overs after a meal though because with a large family and a few teens normally every last scrap is eaten. Occasionally if there is we put it in the fridge and its eaten the next time someone is hungry.

[sundial66]

meal plan your week ahead if possible make meals sunday and freeze so you dont waste, eat left over tea for packed lunch ( which the do now)

[snare]

plan your meals :)

[MisForMumNotMaid]

Meal plan, always plan in a couple of store cupboard and freezer meals so you rotate your stores, freeze and clearly label leftovers.

[cristalfiona]

Plan meals and snacks for the week and shop to that plan.

[grannybiker]

Use your freezer! To freeze leftovers, including those where you deliberately cook extra and also freeze those whoopsie buys so they don't go off before you can eat them.